What's Left of Us: A Star Wars Fanfic
by EliteComicNerd
Summary: 6 years after Order 66, former Jedi Knight Jaren Ko loses hope in his quest to find any surviving Jedi and retreats to a small planet to hide from the Empire, but when he discovers a force sensitive girl named Mara Jade, he takes her on as his apprentice and begins to form a plan to overthrow the empire.
1. Prolouge

The Clone Wars. 4 years of war. 4 years of hell. The longest 4 years in the history of the Republic. For everyone, it wasn't just a mere 4 years, it was an eternity, even for those the war only reached through the HoloNet, but no one knew the horror's the eternity held like the Jedi and the clone army they led.

After 4 years, the war finally came to an end, General Obi Wan Kenobi had killed the last Separatist Leader, General Grievous. After 4 years, we had peace for a few seconds…

"Execute order 66" a voice said over the holo projectors of every clone commanders fleet.

Just like that, within the span of a few minutes, every Jedi not on Coruscant was gunned down by the clone troops they commanded and the Jedi were branded traitors to the Republic, not long after that, a clone army, led by the apprentice of former Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine, known as Darth Vader, attacked the Jedi temple on Coruscant. The Jedi fought hard, as hard as they could, but in the end it didn't matter, most of them were killed, the Knights, the Masters, the Padawans…

... the Younglings.

But not all of them were killed, a little less than a hundred Jedi survived. None of the survivors knew exactly who survived, all they knew was that they were the only ones left and that they were outlaws. Jaren Ko didn't care about what he did not know, he was a Jedi Knight, it was his job to go into a bad situation without much information and protect people, and that was exactly what he was going to do. Unlike most Jedi, when Jaren escaped, he did not run and hide, he did not go into exile or settle down, he went looking, looking for the remains of the former Jedi Order, he was going to bring them all together and bring down the new Galactic Empire, together they would bring balance to the force.


	2. Chapter 1: A Brand New Life

6 AJP (After the Jedi Purge): A bearded Jaren Ko sat in his small ALC Mark 7 ship. The inside of the ship was devoid of life, save for tiny glimmers of green and blue coming from the buttons and the screens. There isn't anything wrong with the lights, nothing at all, there is something wrong with Jaren, he has lost hope.

After rumors had surfaced that Darth Vader had wiped out the remaining Jedi, Jaren's confidence wavered, but he was still sure that the rumors were wrong, there had to be Jedi in the galaxy, but then, through the HoloNet, the public execution of former Jedi Council member Shaak Ti, destroyed whatever hope Jaren still had. He didn't know what he would do, would he try and settle down, sit in his ship until he starved, maybe he would put the emitter of his lightsaber up to his temple and turn it on.

"I'm not that hopeless." Jaren thought, nearly cracking a smile. Maybe he wouldn't give up entirely, he could protect people from bounty hunters or low life thugs, he could return to Coruscant, live in the low levels and be the free-of-charge protector of the people who live there. "No, the Empire's presence there is too strong." he thought, still sitting in dusty his dusty old chair made of Mandalorian Iron.

After staring out into the vast expanse of the galaxy, Jaren typed in coordinates for a new destination. As he finished entering the complicated string of numbers, a blue light flashed on the main console screen, with the words "Lankade System" smack in the middle of it. Jaren flipped a switch, all of a sudden the specs of far away stars became long streaks of light, bright enough and beautiful enough to make the light from a Jedi's lightsaber seem like nothing, the stars were then replaced by a jaw dropping, seemingly infinite swirling vortex of blue and white, which was then replaced by the same vast expanse of the galaxy as before, the only difference: a giant blue and green planet with splotches of red across the main continent. This planet is Lankade 7, It was practically ignored by the Empire, and Jaren has made it his job to protect the people who live there. If anything, it would keep him from thinking about all of the friends he lost… and the hopelessness.

The landing was a bit rough, not in the "something is wrong with the ship" way, more like the "What is your business here" way, Jaren wasn't able to land in the loading dock for 3 hours. As one can expect, he was quite annoyed.

"Anger is not the Jedi way. Anger is not the Jedi way" he repeated to himself under his breath. The view of the planet from the ground helped keep him calm, the tall trees with bright green leaves, the large grass covered fields that eventually led to the mega cities in the distance, that wasn't where he was heading though. No, he was heading to a large village in the West, the villages on Lankade 7 were infested with scum like bounty hunters and common thieves.

Jaren raises his right hand on instinct to try and sense the presence of people who live in the village in order to get a better idea of how far the village was, but he stopped, it wouldn't be a good idea for him to use the force out in the open, even on a seemingly Empire-less world, as far as everyone else knows the Jedi are traitors to the Republic, he would be arrested even on a planet like this. Jaren tries to cover for his near blow-of-cover by using his hand to shield his eyes from bright sunlight, "Looks like it's about a mile away." Jaren said aloud, trying to sell the fact that he definitely wasn't a Jedi.

Jaren began his walk to the village, he knew it would take around 20 minutes, he did not care, he was not in hurry, he wanted to take in the sights. He thought about the Clone Wars, how the field he was walking through looked like a place one of the battles he had fought in would have ruined, so many beautiful planets were decimated or destroyed, so many innocents slaughtered, and what good did it do, it allowed for the Empire to seize power, it resulted in the Jedi begin massacred.

"Those damned clones!" Jaren angrily said aloud, trying his best not to raise his voice. He noticed a small pebble floating near him, his anger had gotten the better of him, if he had gotten any angrier the ground itself would break around him and his cover would be completely blown. Jaren inhaled deeply, and then exhaled. He stood still in the field, as he took more deep breaths he also took in the beauty of the planet he found himself on. Thoughts of the Clone Wars slipped his mind and he went on his way again.

When Jaren finally arrived at the village, more time had passed than he thought would, what felt like a few seconds of standing in the field was, in reality, about 4 hours, that is just how easy it was to get lost in the beauty of Lankade, that beauty was basically non existent in the village, it was dirty, the walls of local areas were stained with blood, it did not help that the night sky made the place feel like a murder scene waiting to happen, or perhaps it already did happen, that would explain the smell reminiscent of rotting corpses.

It did not take long for Jaren to notice a mugging in progress. A helpless Twi'Lek teen was the soon to be mugging victim of a skinny looking Kaleesh, you don't see that everyday. Jaren thought about going in head on, he readied his fists, but could not bring himself to jump in, he was mentally and physically exhausted. The thoughts of the Clone Wars and the trip there took a toll on him, he had to rest for the night, probably at an inn somewhere. His exhaustion didn't stop him from moving a sign slightly to the side, causing the Kaleesh to hit his head on the metal part knocking himself out, Jaren chuckled for the first time in days, it felt good to be amused. He then went to rest for the night, the inn near the middle of the village sounded comfortable.

The next next few days went by quickly, Jaren began discreetly protecting the innocent of the village. He fought off a young bounty hunter, she was apparently after the Kaleesh from Jaren's first night there, he sensed some good in her and decided to let her off with a warning. He also stopped a quiet bar argument from becoming a shoot out between two fugitives, needless to say, they were found outside of the bar tied to a pole. Whatever else happened was just a blur in Jaren's mind, he had done much in the few days he had been there.

"Maybe this place isn't as ugly as I thought." Jaren remarked under his breath, there was some truth to what he said, he had already grown used to the bad smells and hideous structures around him, it was not quite home, but it could be in time.

"Hey mister." a young high pitched voice said politely. Jaren turned around, it was a little girl, no more than 10, she was dirty and covered in white rags, a strand of red hair hung out from under her hood.

"What is it, young one?" Jaren inquired, he hadn't talked to any of the innocents until this moment, he was surprised that there was no hesitation to ask what the girl wanted, maybe it was the Jedi Knight in him.

"Do you have any money?" The girl asked awkwardly. He did, only a single coin, which wouldn't help her much, it was only worth half a credit, still he gave it to her, the girl needed whatever she could get and who was he to keep it from her. "Thank you, sir!" she smiled at him, he smiled back, the second time he's smiled in the last few years.

The girl began walking away, she had not even made it a few steps away from Jaren when he noticed something the girl was doing with the coin he gave her, she was playing with it, but not with her hands, she was making it float. Jaren didn't know what to think, this was the first time he had seen a force sensitive in person other than himself in 6 years. This revelation could be very good, or very, very bad. On one hand he could train her and they could bring the Empire down together, on the other hand, if the Empire's stance on this planet ever changes and she's found out… Jaren doesn't want to think about that alternative

"Hey, what's your name?" Jaren suddenly asked the girl, making her stop in her tracks.

"Mara, Mara Jade." Mara said. She turned around curious about why this stranger would want to know this.

"My name is Jaren Ko. I saw what you were doing with the coin."

"Oh, this?" Mara began making the coin maneuver through the air and around her hand, "I've been able to do that since, well, I don't know when."

Jaren reached his hand out "Let me show you something." Mara gave the coin to Jaren, and he began making the coin float.

Mara gasped with childlike curiosity, "You can do it too?!" Jaren chuckled warmly and nodded. He made the coin move back into Mara's palm.

"Mara, have you ever heard of the Jedi?" Jaren whispered.

"Yes, I've heard a lot about them, they're so cool! A lot of people say they were traitors but they sound like awesome heroes and…" Jaren shushed her, she was being much tooloud, he didn't want his cover to be blown. He had never seen someone get so excited at the mention of the Jedi before, he was flattered.

"You want me to tell you a secret?"

"Are you a Jedi!?" Mara said loudly, luckily nobody heard, Jaren was relieved. He nodded. "Seriously!" Mara yelled again. "Oh, sorry." She said quietly, her face was red, she was noticeably embarrassed.

"No don't worry, it's fine." Jaren reassured. He was about to ask her if she wanted him to train her in the ways of the Jedi, but he had to ask one thing first, "Do you have parents?"

"No, they died when I was 3, I've been on my own for awhile."

"Well, how about you come live with me, I can train you to be a Jedi Knight." Mara clasped her hands over her mouth, trying not to scream as she now knew not too.

"Can we fight the Empire?" Mara peeped innocently. Jaren was almost happy that she already wanted the Empire to fall, though the question hinted that she would most likely try to fight them when she wasn't ready, nevertheless, Jaren nodded once again. He took Mara by the hand and lead her back to the inn where he lived. Jaren taught her the intricacies of the force for the rest of the night.


	3. Chapter 2: Mistakes

7 AJP: a young, red headed girl in traditional Jedi robes stood in the middle of a quarry on Lankade 7. A boulder that was no more than 70 pounds floated in the air, the girl seemed to be guiding it with one of her hands. This girl was Mara Jade, she had learned much since she met her master a over a year prior, so much so that she was much farther ahead than most Padawans would have been at her age. Her master, Jaren Ko, watched her from a distance, a smile on his face, he was incredibly proud of how skilled his apprentice was in the ways of the Force and how knowledgeable of Jedi traditions she was.

Jaren looked at his apprentice, she was incredibly focused, more focused than he was during training.

"Mara!" he called to get her attention, he motioned his hands apart as if he was splitting something. That was all the permission Mara needed, she put both of her hands in the air and began to move them apart causing the boulder to crack. The boulder split apart like butter, Mara looked to her master and bowed, looking up cheekily to smile. Jaren laughed, Mara knew she didn't have to lift a boulder that size, she just wanted to show off, it was part of her charm. Jaren had gotten used to her tendency to show off early in Mara's training, it was easy, he was the same way at her age.

"So, whatcha think?" Mara asked. Jaren walked closer and kneeled in front of her.

"You did rather well for someone so early in there training. You passed." Jaren told her warmly.

"Does that mean I can finally get a lightsaber?" Mara excitedly inquired. Jaren stood up.

"No..." Jaren told her, walking closer to her, "not yet, you still have much to learn before we can leave this planet. Remember the Empire is present nearly everywhere else in the galaxy, you need a higher level of skill to avoid them." Mara looked down, she was disappointed, though Jaren tried to sympathize, he couldn't, at this point in his training he already had his own lightsaber, sure he didn't build it, but it was his to use, but they were currently living a different time, a darker time, they had to be careful, they had to remain on Lankade 7 as long as they could, even if it meant disappointing Mara, so long as they remained safe.

Mara didn't understand, she didn't fear the Empire like her master, she wanted to take to fly headlong into the hangar of an Imperial Star Destroyer, while all Jaren wanted was to stay on Lankade 7. She didn't even know why he was training her, it was clear that he had no intentions of overthrowing the Empire, all he wanted to do was bring the Jedi back in secret, without the Empire knowing, but how would he be able to do that, something like that would eventually come to the attention of the Empire, not even the Hutts could cover something like that up. In Mara's mind they only had two options, fight the Empire or die trying, and unfortunately Jaren won't let her choose either one.

"I sense your anger and frustration, Mara. You must not let those feelings control you, anger leads to the dark side of the force, you must steer clear of that pa-"

"Enough!" Mara raised her voice, cutting Jaren off, "You treat me like a child, and I may be one, but you're no more experienced than me, why should I be treated differently. You said you were-" Mara stooped, she didn't want memories from his past to flood back into Jaren's head. She hung her head in shame, expecting to be scolded by her master. Jaren knelt down and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Mara…" he said softly, "... I am not angry, I am not even disappointed, every Jedi struggles, at some point, with the dark side. You will learn to ignore the emotions, like anger and frustration, that will lead you down that path."

Mara hugged her master. Jaren didn't know what to say, all he could do was hug her back. The daughter he never had. The daughter he never had the chance to have. Mara looked at her master and smiled.

"By the way. Stop talking like you're on the Jedi council." Mara joked, "Use a contraction, talk like yourself, be casual." Jaren chuckled, she seemed older than she really was, she was different than anyone he had ever known, she was definitely different from any Jedi he had known, but at the same time eerily similar, she was as quippy as General Obi Wan Kenobi, and as potentially ruthless as Anakin Skywalker, out of everything else, her similarity to Skywalker is what scared him the most.

Mara may have been incredibly strong in the Force, and strong in general, but she needed rest nonetheless. Jaren brought Mara to the small home they built 7 months previous. He had intended to tell regale her with stories of how the Jedi used to be, but she fell asleep almost as soon as they got through the door. Jaren figured he wouldn't stay now that Mara was asleep in her bed, he would go to the local bar.

Jaren set off immediately, he didn't bother to change into clean clothes when he went out, he didn't care, the bar, one of many in the area, was crawling with scum and criminals who probably hadn't bathed in decades. He did bring his lightsaber though, he always did, just incase.

As he walked into the bar, a smell so foul that it could kill a Hutt smacked Jaren right in the face, it was a miracle that he didn't vomit. "This place is almost as bad as Mos Eisley" he thought, he remembered Mos Eisley vividly, he had been on an undercover mission with his master there.

Bad memories began flooding back into Jaren's head. His master practically raised him, if it wasn't for him Jaren probably wouldn't have survived the first year of the Clone Wars. He hadn't seen him since…

...since the Purge.

The Council wouldn't approve of this, they wouldn't approve of Jaren getting drunk every night, but that didn't matter, they were dead, the Jedi order didn't exist anymore.

"No" Jaren thought, he came to the bar to prevent these thoughts, he would never admit it to himself but that was why he was there, and he would not let himself think back to that time again today. Instead he would drown himself in liquor and drunken ignorance.

Jaren sat down, payed for a drink, and began drinking. Soon one drink became two, and two became seven, and seven became twenty, the only reason he hadn't passed out by that point was because of his Force-sensitive nature. Eventually, people began crowding around him, and he began telling stories, stories he shouldn't have told, stories he had never told anyone any other time he came to the bar, Jedi stories, it was blindingly obvious to everyone in the bar that he was a former Jedi,. After that, he passed out, even as a Force-sensitive he was overwhelmed by the amount of liquor he drank. No one tried waking him, no one gave him a second glance, it wasn't because the patrons of the bar were bad people, though most of them did have a couple of life sentences, this just happens every day, every day someone passes out, unconscious drunks were as common as people buying a drink there.

Jaren didn't wake up until the next day. The hangover was bad, he felt like he was about to vomit, his internal organs were burning and his head felt like it was about to explode, that wasn't his main concern though, he was more worried about Mara, she was probably worried sick.

He made his way back to his and Mara's home, he was expecting to see her waiting at one of the tables for him, all of their makeshift kitchen utensils floating around her either to keep herself entertained or to show off, but that wasn't what he found. In the middle of Jaren's home was a bounty hunter, he had a blaster pointed to Mara's head.

"So you're the guy I was sent to retrieve." The bounty hunter said, "You don't seem as mentally there as you're supposed to be, you know, for a Jedi."

The memories came flooding back, Jaren had told some of the worst scum in the galaxy that he was a Jedi, he had made a horrible mistake.

"Get… get away from her." Jaren managed to say, still recovering from the egregious amount of liquor he had managed to drink a day previous. The bounty hunter inched the blaster closer to Mara's head, never loosening his grip on her hands as to keep her from using any of her abilities.

"Only if you agree to come with me." The bounty hunter told him. Jaren was having none of it, he wasn't going to go with some bounty hunter, if he did the bounty hunter would most likely just leave Mara on Lankade 7 to die. The way he saw it, there was only one choice. He grabbed the metal hilt on his belt and took it off, getting into a fighting position. He eyed the bounty hunter in the face from across the room.

"You just made a major mistake." Mara said to the bounty hunter. She was right. Jaren pressed the button on the hilt.

The room was bathed in a green light, an artificial humming sound came from where Jaren stood, the bounty hunter stood there looking at Jaren in shock, he had never seen a lightsaber before.

"I said..." Jaren uttered, "let. Her. Go."

"You don't scare me." The bounty hunter said, "You're drunk, what are you going to d-" Mara stomped the bounty hunter's foot, causing him to let go of her. She then used the force to pushed him away from her, making him incredibly angry.

"Should have kept an eye on my feet!" Mara taunted.

"I can kill you both blindfolded, you are making a mistake. I will spare you both if you come with me." Jaren wasn't listening, his grip on his lightsaber tightened, the bounty hunter took a step back, he was afraid. "Fine, have it your way."

"Stop!" A voice said from the door. Jaren turned to look, the man was wearing robes, Jedi robes.

"Who are you?" Jaren asked, readying his lightsaber to battle both the bounty hunter and this mysterious stranger,

"So you are a Jedi. I can't believe it." The stranger said in amazement.

"Maybe I am. I'll say it again, who are you?" Jaren inquired angrily, his head beginning to clear.

"Yes, sorry I was just relieved, I thought we were the only ones left."

"We?" Jaren said.

"Let me explain, my name is Kareth Tek, I was a general during the Clone Wars. I was on Alderaan during the Purge, it was a miracle that I escaped. As for "we", I've managed to find three other surviving Jedi, I sent this fool here to retrieve you, I thought it would have made things easier, I was obviously wrong. Luckily I came here just incase what transpired here happened, and it did." Kareth explained.

"How did you know I was here?" Jaren couldn't process what was going on, he couldn't be a Jedi, but his robes, the way he carried himself, maybe this guy was who he said he was.

"News travels fast across the HoloNet, my friend. You're lucky I came here before the Empire arrived, the entire galaxy knows you exist now."

"Enough chit-chat." The bounty hunter said. "Where are my credits?"

"You went against what I told you to do, you threatened who I assume to be this man's apprentice, you were going to attempt to kill them both and you failed to convince him on your own, you aren't getting your credits." Kareth frustratingly told the bounty hunter.

"Give me my damn credits" the bounty hunter said, he quickly pointed his blaster at Kareth and fired three times. A split second later, Kareth deflected all three laser blasts to different parts of the room using his lightsaber, which emitted a beautiful blue light.

The bounty hunter unholstered another blaster to try and gain an advantage, but Jaren lunged at him and cut both of the bounty hunter's blasters in half. Mara force pushed him into a wall, knocking the bounty hunter out.

"Come with me, the Empire will have sent someone here by now." Kareth said, "If we're lucky, we'll only have to deal with an army."

"I assume the alternative is Darth Vader?" Jaren asked.

"Exactly."

Jaren was hesitant to leave, but at this point, if Darth Vader was who the Empire sent and they had to face him in combat, they would be much safer off planet than they would be if they stayed on Lankade 7.

"Come on, Mara. We're going with Kareth." Jaren said begrudgingly.

"Aw." Mara whined, "I want to fight Darth Vader."


End file.
